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Standing in front of a pair of closed doors Harry needlessly adjusted his clothing which was a mix of business attire and PPE for a lab technician. His stark white lab coat was cut and tailored into a suit jacket that extended down to his knees, made from a special polyester blend that would protect him against any possible accidents of the trade ranging from corrosive acids to electrical shocks. The outfit was completed with a pair of similarly resistant black slacks, a black tie fixed in a perfect trinity knot, and a set of brown leather steel-toed oxford shoes.
'You do truly dedicate yourself to every role don't you,' Nyx commented slyly as Harry smoothed down his slicked-back hair for a more professional look and put on a pair of slim-framed glasses, 'And don't bother denying that you enjoy putting on performances. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if trickery, disguise, and illusion were incorporated into your spark of divinity.'
Harry smirked not contesting Nyx's claims, 'When people say they'll believe it when they see it do you think they're lying? Sight is a human's strongest sense it is what allows them to view the world, gather information, and make inferences. Control what they see and you control what they know and what they think.'
Before Nyx could reply a heavy hand settled on Harry's shoulder as Norman made his presence known, "Nervous?"
"Why would I be nervous?" Harry asked his face stoic as he looked forward seeming to stare beyond the doors just a few inches in front of him, "I excel at everything I put my mind to, I'm sure today will be no different."
A broad grin spread across Norman's face as he patted Harry's shoulder approvingly, "That's my boy, never shy from your brilliance, and always be confident in yourself no matter what everyone else says, all their criticism comes from a place of jealousy because deep down they know they're inferior."
"Of course they are, I'm an Osborn," Harry muttered with a smug smile that made Norman chuckle, "And here I was worried that I hadn't prepared you enough or that you would be upset about leaving your friends in school."
"I've realized now that I was letting my talents go to waste and that there are far more important things to life than friendship," Harry replied promptly while adjusting his tie.
Norman nodded sagely, "Lessons that I wished I could have learned at your age, it would have spared me a lot of headaches."
Not bothering to comment on the darkness in his father's tone Harry sought to move the conversation along, "I think we've kept them waiting long enough, don't you think?"
Norman looked at his watch and nodded, "Right on schedule."
After placing his hand on the door's biometric scanner they open allowing Norman and Harry to step out onto a stage where they were instantly flooded with a slew of flashing lights and the deafening sound of a hundred camera shutters snapping at once.
Arrange before them was a sea of photographers, reporters, journalists, broadcasters, and those who had been lucky enough to receive a letter of invitation to a surprise announcement at the doorstep of Oscorp Towers.
"Thank you all for gathering here today on such short notice, and in the interest of not wasting any more time I'll be brief... it is with great joy that announce my plan to run for mayor in this upcoming election." Norman plastered a broad benevolent smile across his face as he spread out his arms.
There was a round of applause surprise mutterings and even more camera flashes, "Thank you, thank you, now I'm sure many of you are wondering about my sudden interest in politics and stepping into the public's eye which has never been a focus of mine in the past."
Heads nodded all around as journalists leaned in with recorders and pens at the ready as Norman continued, "The reason is that in the last few years, I have noticed a plague upon our city and I believe that it is my responsibility as someone with resources and means to step up and doing something about it."
At Norman's announcement, two holographic screens flickered to life above and on either side of him displaying projections of several graphs that showed growing data trends.
"In the past two years, the instances of enhanced individuals appearing in the city have increased by a whopping 126%. However more alarming is the fact that 45% of crimes in the last two years have been committed directly by or with assistance from enhanced individuals. Fortunately, there have been those among us who have used their abilities for good and fought tirelessly against their villainous counterparts. However, ultimately these vigilantes work outside of the law with no oversight and no infrastructure to ensure that they aren't doing more harm than good. Just in the past year alone, vigilante activity has cost the city over 1 billion dollars costing the average taxpayer 250 dollars, and with current trends that number is set to grow exponentially."
Norman paused as he let his spiel settle into the audience and let his hands come to rest on the podium, "Before I would have agreed it to be an unfortunate necessity, but not any longer because I swear that if I am elected I will put an end to this epidemic and make New York the safest city in the world!"
There was another round of applause even louder this time with some shouts of agreement ringing throughout, "And this is not an empty promise, I'm talking about real fundamental change...which is possible thanks to Oscorp's latest development in Bio-engineering, project Ascend."
The screens to either side of Norman flicked once more this time changing to show a futuristic logo of Ascend with the A lettering replaced by sequences of emerald DNA, "With this initiative, we will finally have a better alternative to relying on masked vigilantes to fight our battles."
A score of arms rose into the air as reporters shouted question after question at Norman who held up his hands, "While I appreciate the eagerness, I'm afraid I must direct all your questions to the new head and the inventor of the key technology that made project Ascend possible, my son Harry Osborn."
Norman stepped back as Harry stepped forward, however instead of applause his approach towards the podium was met with a slew of muttering as people cast sideways glances his way, taking in Harry's youthful appearance and wondering if he was truly qualified for such a position.
"Hello all, as my father said my name is Harry Osborn and I am the creator of Project Ascend," Harry started with a smile flashing brilliant white teeth, "As for what exactly Ascend is, it can be classified into two separate initiatives. The first prioritizes the development of groundbreaking biotechnology with the goal of creating artificially enhanced individuals that would constitute a specialized task force capable of dealing with the outbreak of super-powered criminals. The second initiative, upon election, would be a government networking and management agency that would work with future and existing vigilantes to ensure that they operate within the confines of the law to minimize damage and prioritize civilian lives. Now...are there any questions?"
Hands exploded into the air and Harry took a moment to sort through the crowd before pointing to a female reporter in the front, "Yes, you there."
"Janine Altman with the New York Times, are the people of New York City supposed to truly believe the claim that Oscorp is going to create superheroes using 'groundbreaking' technology invented by a high school student?"
Despite the sarcastic almost scathing tone which elicited a small smattering of laughter Harry continued to smile, "You certainly make a good Janine, it does all sound a bit far-fetched, so how about I break it down for everyone?"
Before anyone could reply the screens shifted going from the logo to a video that started to play showing what looked like a medical procedure all while Harry began to explain, "The process begins with the extraction of autologous somatic cells from the donor—typically dermal fibroblasts or peripheral blood mononuclear cells. These cells are then reprogrammed into induced pluripotent stem cells via retroviral insertion of Yamanaka factors.
Once pluripotency is confirmed, we initiate directed differentiation using a carefully modulated cocktail of morphogens, extracellular matrix proteins, and signaling inhibitors to guide the stem cells along specific germ layer pathways. At this stage, we form bio-compatible organoids miniature, simplified versions of the target organ, which act as a scaffold for subsequent structural maturation.
Then comes the enhancement phase. Using high-precision CRISPR-Cas9 and base-editing systems, we introduce site-specific edits to optimize cellular function. For instance, in hepatocytes, we upregulate cytochrome P450 isoforms for superior detoxification. In cardiomyocytes, we augment mitochondrial density and calcium ion channel efficiency to boost endurance and recovery.
The engineered tissue is then matured in a bioreactor, a dynamic, oxygenated, mechano-responsive chamber that mimics in vivo conditions. There, we integrate microvascular structures using 3D-printed scaffolds seeded with endothelial precursors to ensure full vascular compatibility.
Finally, we re-implant the enhanced organ or tissue cluster back into the donor via minimally invasive procedures. Because the cells are genetically matched and immunologically invisible to the host, there's zero risk of rejection."
Harry's explanation was met with silence as those in the room scrambled to keep up with the deluge of biological jargon that had just spewed forth from Harry's mouth.
He then turned to stare at the reporter with a smile still fixed on his face, "Did that clear up some of the confusion Ms. Altman."
"U-uh I...think so," The reporter muttered as she tried to blink away her confusion.
"Good," Harry grinned before turning to address the rest of the crowd, "Now are there any other questions?"